THE Football Association of Zambia (FAZ) should organise at least one international friendly match for the Zambia national soccer team to allow the coach gauge his players ahead of a crucial 2018 Russia World Cup qualifier against Cameroon next month, says Zambia National Soccer Fans Association (ZNSFA) chairperson Musonda Mwaume. Mwaume told the Daily Nation yesterday that Zambia’s loss to Nigeria a fortnight ago was mainly due to lack of adequate preparation. He said the players failed to blend as team because they did not have any friendly before playing the Super Eagles. Mwaume said if the team had prepared well the schoolboy mistakes from players such as Adrian Chama which cost the team would have been rectified before the match. He said with that it could have given the Chipolopolo an edge over the visitors, adding that Zambia needed a positive result against Cameroon if the team was to increase its chances of making a maiden appearance at the global football showpiece next year. He said the association was impressed with coach Wedson Nyirenda’s decision to start preparations for the game in good time but said that was not enough as there was need for an international friendly to give an opportunity to the technical bench to identify and seal the loopholes before meeting for Cameroon. this is equally a big match we cannot afford to lose, he said “Nyirenda has summoned his squad in good time to asses it but that alone is not enough. We know we are remaining with very little time but we can afford to have at least one international friendly match to allow the coach assess his players,” Mwaume said. He called on the technical bench to psych the players as some of them showed nervousness in the game against Nigeria and also encouraged the players to show character and play their game with confidence. He said sports associations that would be ferrying fans to go and cheer the team in Cameroon should ensure that only responsible ones travelled. He said that what have been happening in the past was that people with no heart for football travelled at the expense of seasoned supporters. Zambia takes on Cameroon at the Stade Omnisports de Limbé on November 12, 16:00 local time (Cameroon time)